I know that I promised that I would start reading blogs more and commenting more while on administrative leave. I lied. I did not mean to lie, but I lied. I spent a full week barely looking up from my books while studying for my certification test. And next week, I have a 2 day training with the career counseling service my former company is paying for as part of my severance. And then after the training, I have a meeting with my career coach. So what I am saying is- over the last two weeks, I did not read more blogs or comment more. And do not expect me to do more reading or commenting at least for another week. On some level, I feel busier than when I was working.

However, just because I am not reading more blogs or commenting more, that doesn’t mean I’m not reading any blogs at all. I am. I am, I am, I am. And here is the proof- your now bi-weekly roundup from ErinShanendoah.com.

 

Reading takes mental energy, and I haven’t always had that over the last couple of weeks. But that is okay, because some of my favorite blogs have posted videos to make us smile. At The Chronicles of Cardigan, Elizabeth shares with us tips for getting cute videos of your pets- make you kid send you the ones she took with her phone.  The other pun loving blogger I visit frequently is Pup Fan at I Still Want More Puppies, and she brings us No Frown Friday – You put the lime on the pup-o-nut…

Two other blogs have really made me smile in the last couple of weeks, but for different reasons. Over at Life with Beagle, Christie writes about June’s Doggy Day Out Orlando, which is going to be dedicated to helping seniors live with their pets. How awesome is that.

And after taking a short break during which she was very much missed, Kristine from Rescued Insanity came back with a great post about Ways to Show Kindness in the Blogging World. Whether it is in the blogging world or the real world, the entire world is so much better when we can remember to show kindness to one another.

Also making me smile is the new to me blog, Beagles and Bargains (which, while being featured in my pet blogs section here, really is a cross-over blog with personal finance, as her tag line is “Surviving pet parenthood without going broke”). Her Feature Friday is about a lucky Bulldog who has finally found his forever home. And she was surprised to find out that she actually knew the people who rescued him. It’s a just a reminder that we all know people who are doing amazing things every day, even if we don’t know about it.

 

Also making me feel better about the world we live in is Len Penzo’s daughter, who shares her financial

fears. She is only 13 and already thinking about the future. Smart kids make me feel better about all of our futures.

Always making me smile is the title of Daisy’s blog- When Life Give You Lemons…Add Vodka. Like me, she is currently on a weight loss journey, both trying to eat right and exercise. And like me, she has found that dieting really is like being on a budget, and both can have the same danger – Deprivation Leads to Excess. The answer is always moderation, and to make sure you give yourself some wiggle room.

I have no good segue for moving on to Frugal Portland. But I did love her recent post on Frugal Tips for the Real World and for Television. I very much agree with her. The second set certainly makes for better TV, but the first step can make for a better life.

In my last roundup, I mentioned my blogging friend Pamela’s new site, Hands On Home Buyer, and now it’s up and running, so I’m super excited to be able to link to some of her posts. It’s also a blog to which I am going to be referring a lot as I help some friends look for a new home. Neither they nor I are first time homebuyers, but here’s the thing, it doesn’t matter if you’ve done this before or not, getting expert advice when making a purchase as big as a home is a good idea. And one thing you don’t think about as a buyer- what a seller things about when pricing their house.

And finally, we have the new to me and new Yakezie challenger blog, Mom and Dad Money. And since we just discussed home buying, I figured it would only make sense to link to their post on why they don’t own a house (yet). I love being a home owner, but it’s definitely something that you should not jump into before you are ready. So I say more power to them for waiting for the right time in their lives.